Blasto: The First Hanar Spectre

Blasto was a fictional film character featured in several productions across the 2180s and beyond, billed as the Milky Way's first hanar Spectre. Described as having a lover in every port and a gun in every tentacle, the gunslinging jellyfish roamed the galaxy meting out his own violent brand of justice, and numerous stories were devoted to recounting his adventures. Though never a real agent of the Council, Blasto became a recognizable cultural icon whose films, merchandise, and image spread far beyond his home galaxy.

A galactic film icon#

Blasto first rose to wide prominence as the hero of Blasto the Jellyfish Stings, a hanar exploitation film advertised on Illium in 2185. Roaming the galaxy dispensing violence and justice in equal measure, the character proved commercially successful, though the films drew objection from anti-defamation groups over the use of the term jellyfish, which many hanar regarded as an ethnic slur. Even before his rise, his image had been put to other uses; in 2184, footage of Blasto from the production Requiem for a Reaper! was used to distract Cerberus forces during an attempt to steal Commander Shepard's clone. A sequel, Blasto Saves Christmas, was noted in later galactic box-office reports.

Partners in Crime and the height of his fame#

In 2186, Blasto returned in Blasto 6: Partners in Crime, which followed the hanar's investigation of a vorcha ambassador alongside a new elcor partner named Bubin. Marketed as a family film complete with combo toy packs, it proved wildly successful, breaking opening-week box-office records during the Reaper War; its producer pledged part of the proceeds to the Citadel's military defense fund.

The film paired the loose-cannon Blasto with the by-the-book Bubin, a gruff veteran days from retirement, in a clash of philosophies. The plot wound through interrogations of a vorcha sheltering behind newly granted diplomatic immunity, a romance between Blasto and Bubin's sister Honey, and a betrayal that revealed Honey's involvement with the villains. In the end Blasto destroyed the vorcha mastermind, spared Honey, and saw the wounded Bubin restored, having grudgingly come to honor his partner's insistence on doing things by the book.

Later films#

Blasto's adventures continued in further productions. In Blasto 7: Blasto Goes to War!, the hero was joined by Commander Shepard and the prothean Javik, both invited to star after the Normandy was caught up in events on the Citadel. The shoot was disrupted by Javik, who took exception to the script and struck the actor playing an indoctrinated vorcha Councillor with a biotic attack, leaving the director scrambling to recast for the planned sequel Blasto 8: Blasto Cures the Genophage! Another entry, Blasto: Eternity is Forever, sent the hero and the asari actress and Spectre Cerulean Star to Virmire to stop the mad krogan scientist Kronus and his time-freezing machine.

Enduring legacy#

The Blasto franchise outlasted its own era. By the time the colony ark Keelah Si'yah reached its destination, an eighth film, Blasto 8: The Jellyfish Always Stings Twice, had been produced and watched by passengers centuries after their departure. In the Andromeda galaxy, Blasto endured as one of the cultural artifacts carried over by Milky Way settlers; cereal boxes labeled Blast-Oh's appeared in Initiative settlements, the gunslinging jellyfish adorned athletic gear, and the colonists produced fresh installments, including the holographic feature Blasto vs. the Scourge and an alternate eighth film, Blasto 8: The Biotic Awakens.